Two key additions to defense on day 1 of draft

June 23, 2012|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

NHL Team Report - New York Islanders - INSIDE SHOTS

After taking forwards with their top-10 picks in each of the previous four NHL drafts, the Islanders fortified their defense with both a trade and the addition of Griffin Reinhart with the fourth overall selection.

"He's got excellent size, good hockey sense and he comes from a winning program," GM Garth Snow told Newsday when asked about Reinhart, the son of former NHL defenseman Paul Reinhart. "He's another great piece to add to the puzzle, and he fills a need.

"When you don't make the playoffs, there's a lot of needs. We've got someone we think will help us for a long time."

The 6-foot-4 blue-liner, who had 12 goals and 36 points for WHL champion Edmonton last season, seems to understand he isn't likely to make the Islanders right away.

"I've got a lot I need to work on," the 18-year-old defenseman said.

For the short term, Snow also acquired veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky from Anaheim just before the start of the draft in exchange for a second-round pick in 2013. Visnovsky, 35, joins a defense corps that currently includes holdovers Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald. Steve Staios has retired to join the Toronto front office, while veterans Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina are unrestricted free agents and are not expected back.

Visnovsky's addition also will help the low-salaried Isles with their annual quest to barely exceed the NHL's salary-cap floor. He is due to earn $3 million this season, but he comes with a favorable $5.6 million cap hit.

"I thought it was a real good pickup for us," said Isles winger Matt Moulson, a former teammate with the Kings. "I had a chance to play with him a bit in L.A. and (he) is an extremely skilled defenseman, great on the power play, moves the puck well, skates well. It's a good pickup for us and it'll help with the offensive output from the back end."

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NHL Team Report - New York Islanders - NOTES, QUOTES

--NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reiterated his stance on the Islanders' need for a new arena in his State of the NHL address during the Stanley Cup final. The Isles will face the Devils at Brooklyn's new Barclays Center -- one potential relocation option -- in a preseason game on Oct. 2.

"(Islanders owner) Charles Wang is continuing, despite tremendous frustration, to look at all options to keep the club in the metropolitan area," Bettman said, before adding "there is still time" for the Isles to keep the team on Long Island.

--RW Kyle Okposo played for Team USA in the World Championships in Helsinki, and he believes he can improve on the career-high 24 goals he scored last season with a dedicated offseason workout regimen.

"I'm getting older and I need to start to figure it out a little bit better when it comes to the offseason," Okposo told Newsday. "Just finding what works for me and what doesn't."

--D Griffin Reinhart (first round, 4th overall) was ranked 10th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, but that didn't deter the Islanders from taking the good-sized defenseman (6-foot-4) with the fourth overall pick in the entry draft. The son of former NHLer Paul Reinhart has shown enough skill with WHL Edmonton for the Islanders to believe they have added a high-end defenseman with the potential to affect games at both ends of the ice.

FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Isles, who aren't likely to deviate from their recent approach of barely reaching the salary-cap floor, kept useful center Frans Nielsen away from unrestricted free agency by locking him up in March to a five-year contract extension, and they also retained veteran goalie Evgeni Nabokov for another year as a hedge against further injuries by always-hurt franchise goalie Rick DiPietro. First-line right winger PA Parenteau (18-49-67) is their most significant UFA, and it's not certain that the Isles will match what the former AHL journeyman might command on the open market. Regular defensemen Steve Staios, Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina and goalie Al Montoya also will be free agents, and there's a strong likelihood none of them will be back.